Friday, September 03, 2010

3rd Annual Ashu Babu Memorial Tabla School Concert

I've had numerous incidents and delays over the past few weeks - not least of which was pouring a cup of tea into my (old) laptop - but at last I can tell the story of the 3rd Annual Ashu Babu Memorial Tabla School Concert, held on Guru Purnima (Guru's full moon), July 25 at Progress Hall, Mt Gravatt. All the students worked very hard, especially over the month preceding the concert, to prepare a 5-10 minute tabla solo, and they all did wonderfully. Among the VIP guests, Brisbane Indian Times editor Umesh Chandra and sitar player Saikat Bhattacharya awarded certificates to the students. Each certificate showed the lineage of the Benares Gharana of tabla, from founder Pt Ram Sahai down through the generations to my gurus and finally myself and the students. Finally I gave a little report on tabla school activities and my own tabla solo, in char taal ki sawari (11 beats) and teentaal (16 beats). Many thanks to Joseph Nand for harmonium accompaniment and for providing the sound system, and to Mohit Lal, Dhiresh Singh and Darshil Shah for their tireless efforts. Thanks also to all the families and friends who came along.

The event was held in honour of my guru-ji Late Pt Ashutosh Bhattacharya (and all gurus)